The definition of lifetime alcohol dependence was based on the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition (DSM–IV) (American Psychiatric Association 1994). DSM–IV-based diagnoses were established using the Alcohol Use Disorders and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule (AUDADIS), a fully structured psychiatric interview designed to be administered by trained interviewers who are not clinicians (Grant and Hasin 1992). The AUDADIS includes an extensive list of symptom questions that operationalize the DSM–IV criteria for alcohol dependence.
